The August 2019 Sensis Business Index has revealed that Australia’s small business confidence is strong, with 57% of businesses now confident in their prospects over the next 12 months. Tasmania, with 63% of businesses expressing confidence in their prospects, remains the most confident state followed by Queensland at 60% and Victoria at 58%. Commenting on Read More…

Industry groups have voiced their concerns over the Queensland government’s plan to make Christmas Eve a part-public holiday. Industry groups say the Queensland government’s plan to compensate Christmas Eve workers for lost penalty rates by making it a part-public holiday is a mistake. The Palaszczuk government says the proposal would compensate workers for recently-reduced penalty Read More…

New PayPal research reveals growing demand for alternative lending, with 42% of Australian SMBs saying they have used a non-bank, alternative lender.  PayPal Australia has today announced that it has provided over $500 million (AUD) of finance to Australian small business through its alternative finance offering, PayPal Working Capital. Demonstrating the demand for faster, flexible Read More…

Europcar will pay a $350,000 penalty for imposing an excessive credit card surcharge on 63,012 customers. The Australian branch of global car rental company Europcar has agreed to pay a $350,000 fine for imposing excessive surcharges on customers who paid via credit and debit cards. The amount of each surcharge was quite small – averaging Read More…

RBA assistant governor Christopher Kent says the central bank’s cash rate cuts have helped lower borrowing costs, particularly for new mortgage customers. The Reserve Bank says its twin cash rate cuts have helped support the economy by lowering borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, most notably for new mortgage customers. Assistant governor Christopher Kent says Read More…

Nine Entertainment is aiming to buy the 45.5 per cent of 2GB and 3AW owner Macquarie Media it does not already own. Nine Entertainment looks set to take sole ownership of Macquarie Media with an offer that values the 2GB and 3AW talk radio owner at $275.4 million. Macquarie’s board has approved Nine’s $1.46 per Read More…

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, has handed down a comprehensive review of the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code, recommending a suite of changes to help small business employers meet their obligations. “Put simply, the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code in its current form, is not working in the way it Read More…

Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer says regulators risk behaving like referees who call tactics rather than fouls if they interfere unnecessarily in how banks do business. Eight months after appearing at the financial services royal commission, Mr Hartzer said he respected the role and purpose of the sector regulators including ASIC and APRA. But he likened Read More…

US buy now pay later platform Sezzle (ASX:SZL) has started trading on the ASX following the completion of an oversubscribed A$43.6M Initial Public Offering (IPO). The Minneapolis-based tech company’s latest figures show the number of active merchants rose to 5,021 in June, a gain of 52% from the March quarter. By way of comparison, Afterpay said Read More…

National Australia Bank has hired Susan Ferrier as chief people officer as the lender continues a leadership overhaul that already includes a new CEO. National Australia Bank has hired Susan Ferrier as chief people officer as the lender continues its leadership overhaul. Ms Ferrer will join on October 1 and replaces Lorraine Murphy, who announced her Read More…

Former chair Mark Richardson and CEO Jason Gunn at Oliver’s listing Oliver’s Real Foods has accepted a loan from its founder and chief executive as its cash reserves approach what the cafe chain says will be a nadir.  Oliver’s on Monday said it had accepted an offer from Jason Gunn, whose 17.3 per cent stake Read More…

The AICD’s quarterly report on gender diversity shows female appointments to ASX200 companies’ boards has barely grown. An Australian corporate leadership body is questioning why women still do not make up 30 per cent of ASX200 companies’ boards, given the country’s vast talent pool of female directors. The Australian Institute of Company Directors’ quarterly report Read More…

Business confidence is returning but a new survey shows many bosses still aren’t willing to lift wages to retain talented staff. Bosses at small and medium-sized businesses believe the economy is turning around after a year of plummeting confidence. But the new survey of chief executives also shows they expect wage growth to stay low, Read More…

APRA has ordered Macquarie, Rabobank and HSBC to tighten funding arrangements to ensure funds cannot be withdrawn by parent companies during financial stress. Following a review of funding agreements across the authorised deposit-taking (ADI) industry, APRA notified the three banks that the reporting of their intra-group funding as stable has been in breach of the Read More…

Attorney-General Christian Porter says George Calombaris’ company received a “light” penalty when it was fined $200,000 for underpaying workers. Attorney-General Christian Porter believes celebrity chef George Calombaris got off lightly for underpaying his workers almost $8 million. Calombaris was last week fined $200,000 for ripping off his restaurant staff. “I think that that fine myself Read More…